Greetings from France - Our First Week

We have made it! After weeks of planning, countless hours of prayer, organizing the proper information, and immeasurable amounts of God's grace, we have safely arrived to our new home in Charleville-Mézières, France. For those of you who prayed for us in this process, thank you! We have felt the peace of God in every small step of the journey. Surely, we would not be here if not for His constant blessings and sustenance upon us all.

We arrived in Charleville-Mézières on Friday morning, July 28th. Our apartment is in an ideal location within the downtown of our city. We spent our first weekend in Charleville-Mézières trying our best to get accustomed to the city, the French people, and our new way of life in this different environment. Most of our first few days consisted of trying to catch up on the sleep that we had lost on the "red-eye flight" from Chicago. We were sure to make time to shop for groceries, explore our downtown, and look for items for our new apartment. Charleville is a lovely city with a wonderful small-town feel in a city that is relatively large for this certain region of France. The weather has been consistent: cool and cloudy days with spurts of showers throughout. Actually, very similar to how I remember it when we lived here almost 20 years ago.

On Sunday, we decided to go to Centre Evangelique Protestant de Charleville-Mézières for our church service, about a ten-minute walk from our apartment. We had very briefly researched this church beforehand while searching for Anna's internship possibilities for her master's degree in Ministry. The church service was very special. This church has 24 members, a majority of which are elderly French women. However, this certain Sunday, the church happened to be saying goodbye to Samuel, the church's worship leader, and his family. So this given Sunday, the church was full of friends and loved ones of Samuel, and worship was rich, heartfelt, and soulful!

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Worship at church on Sunday

After the church service, we had a wonderful lunch and celebration that lasted for hours. We were able to meet so many Christians in our community from different backgrounds and environments. Surely, my French (or lack thereof) was put to the test. However, this was an incredible answer to prayer for Anna and I, as we have been constantly praying for Christians that we can connect with in our community. To add to this, Anna and I were able to meet a young married couple that we instantly clicked with, Matthieu and Marie. Marie was the one of the only English speakers in the church, so in some ways we were forced to connect with them. However, their love for the Lord was so evident in just the time that we shared with them on Sunday. This is another answer to prayer, a couple in a similar walk of life (with no kids), with an evident and genuine love for the Lord and a desire to spread His love to those around us.

Monday brought the initial meeting with my basketball teammates, coaches, and staff. Since then, we have had two practices/conditioning workouts a day. It has been a real pleasure getting to know my new teammates, who all speak at least a little bit of English. It has also been very enjoyable to play basketball in a different setting than I am used to. Different players, different styles, and different coaching.

Wednesday, Anna and I met with our friends from church, Matthieu and Marie, for dinner at their apartment. Anna and Marie made a delicious lasagne and French vinaigrette salad, chatting like two best friends the whole time. Matthieu and I were able to converse smoothly using what we now call "Frenglish", where my very limited French and his very limited English can work together and create an overlapping dialect that we can both understand. Our time as the four of us was wonderful. Anna and Marie are starting a Bible Study together next week; another answer to prayer that has been made clear to us even in our first few days of settling here.

Anna and I with Matthieu and Marie

God is so faithful and so good to us all. His hand even in the past week is so evident to us, and it encourages us to release what we want to control and give it to Him. The decision of moving to France did not happen overnight; it was a process that tested Anna and I in our first few months of marriage. Seeking God's Will and learning to wait within His timing was something that was not easy for us. We often felt rushed to make a decision and felt like we constantly needed to know more details. Of course, in our human nature, we want to know exactly what our next step is. When you get married, people ask you what's next. And for awhile, Anna and I had to rest in the response of "we're not completely sure yet." This was so challenging! It is humbling in a sense. We found ourselves fully depending on God, knowing that He would provide as He always does.

Of course, the Lord provided for us, specifically here in Charleville-Mézières. Waiting on the Lord does not always result in a dramatic, miraculous, writing on the wall moment where He reveals His Will and the steps He wants us to take. For Anna and I, it came in the still small voice of His Holy Spirit (1 Kings 19:12) and His peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil. 4:7). We can trust in this peace, and we can trust that God will continue to be faithful and true. Indeed, He has provided abundantly more beyond what we could ever ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20). It is deeply humbling to see how God works when we sacrifice our own motives and desires. It reveals His sovereignty and our weakness. Moving forward, we pray that we continue to work from a heart posture of humility and we continue to trust God in every step of our journey.

22 The Lord’s acts of mercy indeed do not end, For His compassions do not fail. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I wait for Him.” 25 The Lord is good to those who await Him, To the person who seeks Him. 26 It is good that he waits silently For the salvation of the Lord. - Lamentations 3:22-26

Left to right, top to bottom: Anna and Marie and church on Sunday; in our downtown "Place Ducale" Friday night; Anna and I at a local café; Anna outside of our church on Sunday; Anna in our downtown "Place Ducale" with her fresh flowers from a local shop; not the church that we attended, but the beautiful Catholic Church in Charleville-Mézières